ask any Australian, "mate"'s that word you call people you don't know well. The way they use it over there doesn't really imply gender, so I figured it'd be ok to use it here (since you can't really tell gender on the net, some people like passing themselves off as the other gender you know ). (I used to study in an Australian school)

Due to recent developments I'm going to make an ammendment to my original post.

For all of you there who are thinking of creating a new martial art. Martial arts are not created by any one person. Of course there is an instigator of a certain martial art, a founder perhaps. However, over generations arts develop by having to stand up to the scrutiny of the artists. These many martial artists create the art, not just one person.

The founders of arts which persist are naturally people who have dedicated their lives to martial arts. Recent examples are Bruce Lee and Helio Gracie (and the Gracie family). These arts have a solid foundation in reality and are often created through trial and error. The founders of these arts did not just create them by chucking a mish mash of existing arts together. They had goals. These artists were often disillusioned with the way their previous arts were taught and wanted to correct what they saw as the problems with the older arts. They also had real experience in the arts. If you want an example of how one person's goal changed a martial art, look at how JKD is different from Wing Chun, those fundamental differences (especially the philosophy of JKD) were clearly created by someone who thought often and deeply about them.

If you want to create a martial art worth its salt, I suggest you start with a smaller goal, such as learning a martial art under a real qualified instructor first hand (i.e. no self teaching, no videos or books, real martial arts training). Then after a few years think carefully about what you would do to improve it. Then move onto another martial art and so on.

It takes a very special person to create a comprehensive fighting and philosophical system which can be deemed a martial art. I'll not discount the fact that there may be someone out there who is going to create the next accepted martial art but it will be someone with a lot of martial arts experience and their own goals and criticisms as well as justifications to back them up. I'm sure it's a lot of hard work and not really a lot of fun but I might be wrong. Whatever it is, it won't be accepted if only you practice it so don't forget that after that you have to start teaching (probably full time) which means sacrificing any thought of a real life or a well paying job (unless you made bullshido).

My goal with this post is to bring those people with their heads in the sky back to reality. If you really want to create a new martial art which will be accepted by people in general and will be valued, get working, you've got your hands full with the job.

Quote:Due to recent developments I'm going to make an ammendment to my original post.

For all of you there who are thinking of creating a new martial art. Martial arts are not created by any one person. Of course there is an instigator of a certain martial art, a founder perhaps. However, over generations arts develop by having to stand up to the scrutiny of the artists. These many martial artists create the art, not just one person.

This point was once described to me in a slightly different manner:

Ancient martial arts thrived because they work. If a technique did not work, it was not passed on from generation to generation. As well, if the technique did not work, the practictioners were often dead as a result.

I agree with everything in this post except "too much money being spent on advertising". Someone please elaborate because in my thinking, it sounds like you're saying "if a school cares too much about getting new students, it's a mcdojo". Quite frankly, I feel that the word McDojo is thrown around too easily. But, I'm probably misinterpreting what the original poster meant, so if someone would clarify that for me, I'd apreciate it.

It might be better to say "if a school cares too much about getting new students' money, it may be classed as a McDojo".

If they're neglecting other costs to spend on advertising, such as not purchasing new equipment or not repairing damaged equipment, it's likely a McDojo. Basically, if it seems that their primary aim is to get new students to pay them, you should be wary. You may be able to find just as good quality instruction elsewhere for a much lower price. The whole McDojo issue is very subjective so use your best judgement. If you can't decide ask for other people's opinions on the Dojo, or ask on these forums.